


Here I am

by WolfAndHound_Archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Post-Sirius in Azkaban, Romance, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-18 21:21:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5943499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfAndHound_Archivist/pseuds/WolfAndHound_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Reunion</p>
            </blockquote>





	Here I am

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Lassenia, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Wolf and Hound](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Wolf_and_Hound), which was created to make stories posted to the Sirius_Black_and_Remus_Lupin Yahoo! mailing list easier to find. However, even though I still love the fandom, I am no longer active in it and do not have the time to maintain it. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in December 2015. I posted an announcement with Open Doors, but we may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on the [Wolf and Hound collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/wolfandhound/profile).

After he had finished packing, he left the school as quickly as possible. He had grown attached to his job, and his students... and he was sad to see the old school disappearing into the mist as he left. Even through all his... troubles... Hogwarts had been a wonderful place to him... when he was a student there, and again when he taught there, for the short year that he did. He knew he was going to miss teaching. He had loved the looks of joy and anticipation on the faces of the third years when they showed up at his classroom door. He'd even taken the Slytherin's insults in stride... because he was used to getting odd looks and being mocked at every turn... he also knew that Snape would never allow him to get too comfortable in the Defense of the Dark Arts Teaching position... Snape never had liked him all that much... especially not after he had found out his secret. Well... it wasn't really a secret anymore. In a way he was glad that everyone at Hogwarts now knew the real him... well... they knew quite a bit about him. Not everything. Only one knew everything... if he even remembered. 'He must have remembered... why else would he tell me of his hideaway... somewhere I could go to shy away from civilization when I... needed too.' He thought as he climbed into his compartment on the Hogwarts Express... which would take him back to London... and then he could finally escape to the hideaway. He wondered if that was where _he_ had gone... or if _he_ had found somewhere else. 'I guess I'll find out', he thought, smiling. He watched the scenery go by as the train picked up speed.

"Professor Lupin... we're back in London, sir." He awoke with a start. He hadn't realized that he had drifted off.

"Oh... thank you... thank you." After gathering his things, he climbed off of the train and found himself in the middle of the bustle that is Platform 9 and 3/4s. He found his way out of the railway station and flagged down a taxi. He knew the taxi would be able to get him as close as he could get to the hideaway. He told the driver where he needed to be taken, and settled down for the long drive. Again he spent the ride gazing out the window as the landscape rushed by.

When they had finally arrived at their destination, he reached into his pocket to pay the driver... but all he pulled out were silver Sickles. He then searched through his suitcase for Muggle money. Upon finding some he just shoved it at the driver and walked off.

"Sir... you gave me too much... Your change, sir!"

"Keep it." He murmured at the Muggle driver. He walked through the town, noticing the strange looks he was getting... that was when he remembered that he was still in his robes... and that must seem a little... off... to Muggles. He stopped in the nearest shop and changed into Muggle clothes in the bathroom. He continued on his way through the town, stopping to buy a bottle of water and a Muggle newspaper. The town was on the edge of a large dense forest... He knew that the hideaway was somewhere deep in that forest... yet he didn't go in... not yet. He had to wait until there weren't people on the streets to see him... and attempt to follow him, as Muggles are prone to do. He found himself a table outside a small restaurant, where he could sit and enjoy his newspaper, and maybe have a bite to eat.

Hours later, the sky had darkened, and the owner of the restaurant came out and informed him that they were closing and he would have to move. He smiled at the owner and threw down a few Muggle coins... to make up for using the table all evening. He walked to the edge of the forest and... after looking both ways, and checking the moon... he snuck in between the trees. He pulled out his wand. "Lumos." He whispered and a burst of light appeared at the end of his wand. Finding his way through the trees was as easy as it would have been if he had been there millions of times before... As he approached the hideaway... he heard strange noises, and he crouched close to the ground as he continued to move stealthily through the trees. He noticed light up ahead... He had found the clearing! He hid behind a tree and peeked around... a hippogriff... that he recognized as Hagrid's Buckbeak... was tethered to a sapling outside of a small cottage. He smiled at the sight of smoke rising from the chimney... and the door standing open. It looked so inviting. He was about to enter the clearing when he heard a man's voice and shrank back... "So... Beaky... what are we going to do tonight? Do you want to go look at the stars again? No... you just want your dinner... I coulda guessed that... Heh... I'm talking to a hippogriff... as intelligent as they are... they can't converse with humans... that's sad, really. Maybe I did go crazy in Az... in that place... that we won't name... because it was hell... Oh well... that's over with... Now you and I can just live here in peace with no one to bother us... Do you like that Beaky?... Aww... you look sad. You miss Hagrid... maybe in a year or two... I can contact him and he can come visit. Or I could write him a letter... and you could put your hoofprint on the bottom... trouble is... I can't exactly go to the nearest owl post and send it... as I am a convicted murderer and all... Who could I find to do it? Would you? Nah... the Muggles would probably get scared."

"I could do it."

"AH! Who's there? Show yourself!" Wielding his wand before him... Sirius spun around a few times in the middle of the clearing... trying to deduce where the voice came from.

"Calm yourself, Siri." Remus stepped out from behind the tree and into the clearing... Smiling at the confused looking on Sirius' face.

"How'd you... where did you... why are you... What?"

"Nice to see you, too..." Sirius ran to his friend and embraced him... not exactly like a brother...

"Come in... would you like something to drink? I was just brewing some coffee..."

"No coffee for me, thanks. I'll come in though."

"Great. See ya Beaky."

"So... have you always talked to hippogriffs... or is this a new thing?"

"Oh shut up Remmie." They both smiled... it felt good to smile, again. They needed to do that more often. Sirius gestured to a big armchair, and Remus sat down in it, as Sirius poured himself a cup of coffee, and sat across from Remus, in another chair. "So... why are you here? Why aren't you at the school... teaching and such?"

"I resigned... Severus "accidentally" told the whole school my secret... and I didn't want to deal with frightened parents forcing Professor Dumbledore to get rid of me. That man does not deserve all the problems he has to put up with and that would have just caused him more. So... I left... and here I am." "How did you find this place?"

"You told me about it."

"Oh... yeah...Remus... I..."

"What?"

"I'm glad you showed up... I... I think Beaky has gotten tired of my babbling." They laughed together... the sound ringing through the small sitting area of the cottage. "So... how long are you staying?"

"How long can I stay?"

"How long would you like to stay?"

"How long can you stand me?"

"Forever." The word struck something in Remus. He swore he could see something in Sirius's blue eyes... an emotion that he couldn't quite put his finger on... An emotion he had not seen for a long time... He shrugged it off. "Forever... nice. Sounds good. Where can I sleep?"

"I have an empty bedroom... here... I'll show you." He grabbed Remus' hand and pulled him out of the fluffy armchair and up the stairs into the loft section of the cottage. Walking past two closed doors... he directed Remus into the last door of the hallway. Remus pushed the door open and stared around in awe. Everything was either wood, or a deep forest green. He felt instantly comfortable in the woodsy room. He smiled and sat on the bed... it was the most comfortable bed he had ever had. He looked up and smiled at the fact that Sirius was smiling at him. "Do you like the room?"

"It's like you decorated it... specifically for me."

"Well... I did have you in mind when I did it. I did it all without magic too... I went to shops like a normal Muggle." Remus gasped.

"When did you do this? Wouldn't the Muggles have pointed you out to the authorities."

"Oh I did it before I was sent to... prison."

"Over 12 years ago? But Siri... we hadn't seen eachother in..."

"I know."

"How did you know we were ever going to see eachother again?" Sirius blushed, a sight that is not seen by many people.

"I don't know... I just... felt that we were going to be together again... Padfoot and Moony... we used to be inseparable." Again, they smiled together. Being there just felt right to Remus... he was now definitely glad he had decided to show up. Even more glad that he had found Sirius here. He yawned and lay back on the bed... realizing for the first time that he had been up for... 20 hours straight... except for the couple hours he slept on the train... He really needed to sleep more. As he drifted to sleep, he vaguely noticed his shoes and socks being removed, same with his jeans and t-shirt... leaving him in his underwear. He felt fingers lightly tracing the scars of scratches and bites all over his body... before he was lifted, and laid back down on the sheet... and had the duvet pulled over him when he shivered... even though he hadn't shivered from the cold... he had shivered from the tenderness with which he was being taken care of... it was a strange feeling for him... being cared for. He'd taken care of himself for so much of his life... A loner because of his affliction... his disease. He felt lips gently caress his forehead, before Sirius left the room... gently closing the door behind him. -- Weeks past... each day was spent reminiscing, smiling, laughing, chatting... and talking to Beaky. Remus took Sirius and Beaky's letter down to the nearest owl post and sent it to Hagrid, knowing it would put a smile on his face. He had discovered the power of a smile. It lights up one's face... and it's contagiousness lights up the faces of those around you and it leads to an amazing atmosphere. Each night, Sirius would watch Remus until he fell asleep... and then for a few minutes after... amazed at how peaceful the man looked when he was sleeping. He knew that somehow they needed to make him some of the potion... but they needed the ingredients first. About a week after they had sent their letter to Hagrid... a 7 or 8 owls arrived... carrying a large satchel... inside were all the ingredients for the potion... and a recipe... attached to a letter from Dumbledore himself.

"Gentlemen,

I am glad to hear that you are well. I realized that being in hiding would probably hinder your chance to attain what is needed for Remus's potion. So I procured a large supply of the ingredients. This should last you about 10 years of potion-making, as long as you follow the recipe that is attached.

Sirius,

We are working on getting your name cleared. We being Harry and I... but it will be difficult finding Peter... if we ever do I will send our fastest owl to tell you, and then maybe you can come out of hiding. If you want to.

Remus,

Sadly, we have found a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher... but if you are ever interested in coming back and teaching again... I'm sure we could find you a position. I've had many letters from the students requesting that you return... And strangely enough, not too many furious parental letters. But again, that all depends on whether or not you wish to return... I am sure that you and Sirius have quite a bit of catching up to do.

Albus Dumbledore."

After those owls had eaten something and left... another smaller one arrived... carrying one letter. The messy scrawl on the outside told them whom it was from, even before they had opened it.

"Hello,

I was so happy to hear from you. I hope Beaky hasn't been causing you too much trouble. You just have to be nice to him and he'll be nice to you. The other hippogriffs miss him... and I do too. Well... I'm sure you two have things to do. Thank you for letting me know that you and Beaky were all right. Rubeus Hagrid"

Sirius dragged the bundle of ingredients into the cottage... and went about putting together the potion.

"I can do that..." Remus interjected.

"No. I'll do it. Go feed Beaky."

"But... it takes a lot of work... you don't need to..."

"Remus. Go. Feed Beaky... he hasn't had his dinner yet." Remus, feeling like he was being treated like a small child, walked outside and fed Beaky, talking softly to the animal, and telling him about Hagrid's letter. As night began to fall... Sirius handed Remus a steaming mug... which Remus looked at with a raised eyebrow. "No... it's not the potion... by my calculations, you shouldn't need the potion until tomorrow at the earliest. This is just butterbeer."

"Thank you." Remus took a long drink of the foaming beverage, and sighed, content. "It's wonderful... but you do realize that I can take care of myself. I have for years. I don't need you to watch me while I fall asleep... or bring me drinks... or brew my potion. I can deal with everything by myself."

"I'm sorry. I just thought I was being kind." Sirius scowled at his friend and sprinted up the stairs to his bedroom door. Which he walked through and locked. Remus took his time following... and lightly placed his palm on the wood of the door.

"Siri... I..."

"Go away. You don't need me."

"Sirius..."

"Fuck. Off. Lupin."

"Fine." He knew he sounded like an infant, but he stormed back downstairs, threw him into an armchair, and glared angrily... at nothing.

A few minutes later, he heard Sirius's door open, and listened as he descended the stairs. He paused next to the armchair, as if to speak with Remus... but he thought better of it and continued out the front door. Remus stood and followed. Sirius was on his way across the clearing towards the town... where he would get picked up by Muggle police... and taken back to... that place.

"Sirius. What's wrong?" Ignoring him, he kept walking." Siri, I do need you. I've been alone for so long... without someone to care for me... without someone to care fore. Because of my... affliction... I've never found someone to love, someone who loves me. I've tried to avoid human contact of any kind... I just need time to find the person that I... that I... love... my soulmate. Do you understand?" Sirius slowly turned.

"I understand Remmie... I understand..." He took a breath, to figure out how to place his next words. "You don't need to look... Here I am."


End file.
